To Be Cleansed
by ValandMarcelle
Summary: In Crutchie's eyes, the rain makes everything new.


**This is essentially a little piece I wrote tonight to prove that despite being in the midst of musical, homework, and drama, I am, in fact, not dead. I am very much alive, and I hope that this proves it. I saw a prompt online that dealt with a character being caught in the rain, and I thought of little baby Crutche, and suddenly this was being completed. Oh well, I think it's cute. **

**Enjoy!**

**-Marcelle**

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><p>Crutchie smiles when he begins to feel the small drops on his head. They fall sluggishly at first, a snails' pace, before gaining momentum and vigor. The rain begins to hit the ground and Crutchie himself with renewed gusto, and he's glad. The rain is good.<p>

He laughs as he tilts his head back towards the sky, which he thinks may be crying for a moment before rememering how nice the teardrops feel on his skin. They're cool to the touch, a much different sensation from the usually scorching sun, and Crutchie relishes the feeling.

He enjoys it more than he's ever enjoyed anything in his six years of life, and finds himself wishing that it could rain every day. Jack's told him the story of Noah's arc, of course, but even the threat of a flood doesn't deter him from savoring each and every drop of water.

Crutchie doesn't care that his hat is soaked, that his hair is drenched, that his gimp leg is acting up as the storm evovles into a downpour. He doesn't care, because the rain reminds him of a world that is clean and bright, washed away of everything that makes it dark and helps it all to shine again.

Even the dull, grey clouds can't hide the beams of sun that slip through, glinting off the raindrops and reflecting in Crutchie's eyes. He lets out another laugh, unable to contain it any longer, and it seems to draw the one and only Jack Kelly out of the lodging house.

"Hey, Crutchie, what're ya doing out here?" he asks, practically shouts above the patter of the rain against the buildings. He makes his way over to where Crutchie is standing enthralled on the sidewalk. Crutchie grins even broader, because Jack hates rain, but he's walking out in it just for him. "You'se are gonna catch some disease or somethin'!"

"Nah, I ain't! This isn't sick rain, this is good rain," Crutchie explains simply, holding out his hand and collecting a few drops on his palm to prove his point. Jack's frown deepens as he begins to grow increasingly wet the longer he stays outside, and it's clear that he doesn't quite believe his friend.

"Rain is rain, Crutch, there ain't no difference. Can ya come inside now?" he requests, gesturing back to the lodging house, and Crutchie rolls his eyes at Jack's lack of understanding.

His big brother is a whole eight years old, and it always seems like he knows everything there is to know. Jack is the smartest person Crutchie could ever imagine, but it's painfully obvious that he doesn't see the beauty in the rain.

"Please, Jack, let me stay out for just a little bit!" he pleads, his grin slipping from his face at the possibility of going inside now and missing the rest of the rainstorm. He wants to be emersed in every last bit of it, and he wants Jack to understand.

"What's so great about bein' wet, huh?" Jack sighs, but he doesn't order Crutchie inside as the younger boy is afraid he's going to do. Instead, he leads Crutchie over to a nearby bench, sitting down beside him although seemingly annoyed at the consistant dripping.

"It's not about bein' wet, Jack," Crutchie insists, tilting his head back again and letting his face be fully exposed to the storm. "I jus' like ta know what it's to be new."

"New?" Jack repeats, his head cocking to the side. Crutchie thinks he just might be interested, and he smiles at his brother before continuing.

"Yeah, 'cause the rain falls down and cleans up everything. It makes things shiny and new again, I think. So when I get rained on, it's like I'm a whole new person." He elaborates, his voice quiet as though not to disturb the rain as gravity works it's magic. He glances at Jack, waiting for him to laugh, to say that he's crazy and drag him back inside. But Jack doesn't do any of those things.

He is quiet for a long time, but slowly, his head leans back as well, and Jack Kelly is letting the rain fall softly on his face for what Crutchie thinks may be the first time. It's almost amazing to watch, and Crutchie finds himself wanting the rain to never stop.

He wants to sit on this bench with his big brother forever, letting the rain soak them each to the bone but never feeling any chill. He wants to feel as safe as he does now for as long as he lives.

"Y'know, Crutchie, this is real good," Jack speaks after a moment, looking at him with a kind of smile on his face that Crutchie has never seen before. It's free, it's genuine. It's limitless.

"You think so?" he asks, almost incredulously, as Jack chuckles lightly and slings an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, I do. I kinda feel...new, jus' like ya said," he admits, ducking his head slightly, and Crutchie can feel his own face light up at the confession. "I always thought the rain ruined everything, but this ain't so bad at all. I feel like I ain't as...dirty as before or somethin', I don't know. But it's good."

And suddenly, Crutchie knows he's done it. He's actually helped the invisible and permanently capable Jack Kelly, and that in itself is enough to make him feel as though he could never do anything greater.

"Really?"

"Really," Jack confirms, and they fall silent once again. The only sound is the rain pattering on the bustling streets of New York, and Crutchie knows that even if Jack won't say it out loud, maybe he won't hate the rain so much anymore.

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><p><strong>I hope this was decent, it was written quickly but with much love! Don't forget to review, and prompts would be the actual best thing ever at the moment. I should be updating Midnight soon, in case anyone cares. XD Thanks for reading!<strong>


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